Mike Kafka has been cleared to take snaps and could be a step closer to returning. No decision has been made on his availability for Thursday night's preseason finale against the New York Jets, Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinwehg said Monday.

Kafka closer to playing; closing to getting cut?

Mike Kafka has been cleared to take snaps at practice (Michael Bryant/Staff Photographer)

Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted:
Monday, August 27, 2012, 12:54 PM

Mike Kafka has been cleared to take snaps and could be a step closer to returning. No decision has been made on his availability for Thursday night's preseason finale against the New York Jets, Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinwehg said Monday.

Kafka fractured a bone his left, non-throwing, hand on Aug. 9 against the Steelers. He has not played since. In his absence, Nick Foles and Trent Edwards have played well, especially the former. Kafka, in the opinion of some, could be the odd man out when the Eagles trim their roster to 53 on Friday.

Andy Reid said recently that he will likely keep three quarterbacks.

"I think you can go two ways," Kafka said when he asked about having to watch from the sidelines. "The way I approach it was learning as much as I could. You can definitely get better by watching. I worked on that."

So does he feel any less secure than he did heading into camp when he was the certified No. 2 quarterback behind Michael Vick?

"I think right now I'm just worried about practicing today," Kafka said. "I can only control my opportunities I get today in practice."

-- Nate Allen said that the hamstring strain he suffered Sunday during Flight Night practice was minor. The Eagles originally said he "tweaked" it. Allen missed some time in camp and also missed the first preseason game because of a hamstring strain. He said he wasn't sure if he would practice this afternoon.

-- Mornhinweg recently said that the team had discussed the idea of using Chris Polk as a lead blocker, but he said today that the running back hasn't yet been used in that manner in practice. Mornhinweg said that he thought Polk was still capable of doing that job if the Eagles decided to keep the rookie on the roster rather than a traditional fullback.

-- The Eagles have to trim four from their roster by 4 p.m. today to get to 75. The lockers of guard Mike Gibson and wide receiver Jamel Hamler were ominously empty today. Rather than cut more players the Eagles may temporarily save a few roster spots by placing tackle Jason Peters (Achilles), defensive tackle Mike Patterson (brain surgery) or safety Colt Anderson (ACL)on the PUP list.